Trauma
by elfmaiden4legs
Summary: SUMMARY SPOILER WARNING! In the aftermath of the submarine explosion, Sawyer struggles to cope with the news of Sun and Jins death after regaining consciousness. Hurley is left to tend to him whilst Jack tends to Kate, but a head injury proves of concern.


**Chapter 1**

"Sawyer… Sawyer, can you hear me?"

Sawyer could hear muffled voices calling his name, spurring him from out of the darkness which enveloped him, isolating him. His lungs and chest hurt, the ache spreading deeper with each fresh intake of breath, ceasing his ribcage and making him gasp for breath… he was drowning. His eyes shot suddenly open with a terrified jolt.

"Take it easy Sawyer." Jack soothed, as his vision gradually began to clear, and the image of the doctor starring down at him, a concerned frown etched into his furrowed brow, slowly came into view. "You've had a nasty knock on the head."

"What… what happened?" Sawyer growled.

"You were knocked out." Jack explained, tentatively taking another look at the bump to Sawyer's head, gently examining the soft tissue surrounding a large patch of pink and purple bruising which was by now beginning to swell, bleeding vibrant colour across Sawyer's normally pale scalp. "Tell me, do you have a headache? Any dizziness? Feel sick?" He asked.

"Well there's one hell of a brass band playing concerto at the moment inside my head doc." Sawyer slurred in his usual Southern drawl.

Jack nodded sympathetically.

"You've probably got a mild concussion." He deduced, moving his finger from side to side in front of Sawyer's eyes and getting him to follow it as he checked his pulse.

"You were out for quite a while, we'll have to keep a close eye on you for the next few hours."

"What happened to Sun… Jin?" Sawyer suddenly asked however as he started to regain some awareness of his surroundings, and noticed Kate and Hurley sitting on the sand a short distance away up the beach, noticing too the two missing members of the already small group, and remembering with sickening clarity the events which proceeded his accident upon the submarine.

There was however no need for words, the look on Jack's face, the pain in his sad expression said it all. As the young doctor immediately looked to Kate and Hurley for support, Sawyer noticed for the first time his red, swollen and bloodshot eyes, the tear stains now clear upon all three of their faces… they were grieving.

"Shit…" He choked, shaking his head vehemently in his denial, the sobs coming so thick and fast, they took even him by surprise. "No… no…"

"I'm sorry Sawyer…" Jack gasped, struggling to hold back his own tears.

"No… no…" Sawyer choked, battling the convulsions of his already aching chest to get his words out. "What… what happened?"

But Jack, unable to talk, turned to summon the attentions of Hurley who still sat alongside Kate a little further up the beach. It was too easy for Jack to distract himself from having to feel the pain by throwing himself into his work, and the next patient… it was a technique he'd used so many times before, and Kate still needed treating.

Hurley began to make his way over.

"Hurley, I need to take care of Kate's wounds." Jack explained as he approached. "I need you to sit with Sawyer for a bit, keep an eye on him."

"Yeah, yeah sure." Hurley nodded.

"Let me know as soon as if his headache gets any worse." He informed him. "If he develops any dizziness or nausea, call me." Before turning to direct the rest of his instruction to Sawyer. "Sawyer, take it easy." He advised. "Rest, just sit and relax, I'll be back to check you over properly when I'm done with Kate."

Sawyer watched Jack go, and waited until he was a little further up the beach and out of ear shot, before turning to Hurley.

"What really happened out there?" He asked.

Hurley looked at him, unshed years still gathering in his eyes and casting shadows of concern back at Sawyer. He shrugged. "I don't know." His voice shook with suppressed emotion, his tone broken with grief. He struggled to get the words past the growing lump deep his throat, and his "Once me and Kate managed to get out of there we made it to the surface and headed straight for the beach… Jack surfaced a few minutes later carrying you." He explained. "Apparently after you were knocked unconscious Jin insisted that Jack get you out… he stayed behind to try and free Sun… but she was held fast… there was no hope… she didn't stand a chance…"

"But nobody actually saw them die?" Sawyer turned to Hurley, the tears in his own eyes, as he glanced up at the other man hopefully, still holding his evidently aching head in his hands.

Hurley shook his head. "The water was already rising when me and Kate got out of there." He explained. "By the time Jack dragged you out you were up to your neck in water, they didn't stand a chance."

"Don't you dare say that." Sawyer suddenly snapped, catching Hurley off guard and making him jump noticeably.

"There's always a chance… don't you dare give up on them… they could of made it out of there after me and Jack… they might still be out there now somewhere, and we're just sitting here!"

"Sawyer!" Hurley exclaimed, feeling slightly out of his depth about the situation. Sawyer didn't normally let his guard down, and he was finding it hard to get his head around the fact that it was now his responsibility to console him in his moment of grief. "Listen to me dude!" He continued, allowing his own grief to show as his tears spilled out over his eyelids and cascaded down his pale cheeks. "They're gone!"

The young man as he said this however appeared quite overcome and finally allowed himself to give in to his grief. As Hurley was suddenly gripped by the wracking sobs which tore through his body, Sawyer turned away; silent in his own sadness.

After a few moments of almost near silence elapsed between them however, punctuated only by the gentle rush of the sea, and Kate's distant cries of pain and discomfort a little further on up the beach. Sawyer's head began to spin, his vision blurred, swimming in and out of focus as nausea suddenly struck him and he dry heaved before he'd even realised what was happening to him, enlightening Hurley to his plight.

"You OK?" He asked as he turned back to face the blonde haired Southerner. Sawyer's face was pale and sweating, his eyes appeared slightly sunken in his head, his sickly appearance only accentuated by the deep grey hew around his eye sockets and his eyes had taken on a slightly glazed expression.

"Hurley…" He replied, tone distant as he spoke without even looking at the young man, continuing to stare out to sea. "Ummm… I'm feeling a little dizzy…"

"Ummm… dude… you don't look so good." Hurley observed, as Sawyer began to stagger this way and that.

"JACK!" He immediately shouted, making an urgent plea for the young doctor's attention, as with this he watched anxiously as Sawyer's skin blanched further, the young man's glazed complexion cleared for only a moment as he seemed to become momentarily more aware of his surroundings before he suddenly swayed and collapsed helplessly face first into the sand.


End file.
